The More You Know
by Signora Ted
Summary: Sephiroth unintentionally wakes Vincent up during a destructive rampage through Shinra Mansion and is invited to learn to truth about who and what he is. What if the Nibelheim incident never happened? What if Sephiroth had the chance to really, truly live? AU, Seph/OC, plenty of AVALANCHE.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: So this is actually an idea I've had floating around my head for a few years, but only put it down on paper last night when I couldn't sleep. The writing is not flawless; I just want to see if anyone would be interested in seeing more, and I picked the two hardest characters to write. 'Cos I'm stupid like that. Anyway, if you are intrigued and want some more, please let me know in a review and I will get working on a new chapter.**_

 _ **Chapter 1**_

Despite the thousands of rushing, chaotic thoughts that swarmed his mind like aggravated bees, locked inside his skull, and the fact that it felt like every drop of blood in his body was bubbling under his skin, Sephiroth paused when he glanced at the next object he had sought to destroy. It was not the first coffin he had come across; the others he had simply sliced apart with masamune, like wire through cheese. This one, however, was partially open; he had unintentionally knocked it with his foot as he had stormed by. He had expected to see a decomposed body, a skeleton, but what stopped him was the unusual thing he found instead.

From what he could see, a deathly pale man in red lay still, but to Sephiroth's astonishment, was still breathing. The heavy panting that the exertion of rage had caused, slowed as curiosity got the better of him. Were it not for the mystery surrounding the slumbering man, Sephiroth would have killed him in his sleep without remorse.

But he did not. Somehow, he disobeyed the voice that attacked his mind, and leaned down to push the coffin's lid off. He had dropped his sword to the ground. It was unexplainable. He was fascinated. He needed to know who this man was. The rotted lid fell to the floor with a bang. The man's eyes flicked open. They glowed red.

Sephiroth had never come across someone so…odd. Had the man not been visibly breathing, one would believe, without a doubt, he was dead. His flawless skin was ghostly white, contrasting with the shock of black, messy hair that fell to his shoulders. The garb he wore matched the crimson colour of his eyes. Within a split second, he had Sephiroth at a disadvantage with the words that left his mouth. 'You… Are you… Sephiroth?'

The man sprung up into a seated position, causing Sephiroth to take an unsteady step back. If the man could go any paler, he had. Sephiroth frown in confusion, but found himself nodding in reply against his better judgement. After a brief moment of silence, he spoke. 'Who are you? How do know my name?'

The man slowly climbed out of he coffin, his own brows furrowed in a frown. 'You look just like her.'

His reply was unexpected and threw Sephiroth completely off guard. Then, he became angry. 'Look like who? Who are you?' He was getting annoyed at himself for not just doing the sensible thing and run the strange man through with his sword. But he intrigued him.

'Lucrecia. You look…just like her.' The name made Sephiroth freeze. He knew that name.

'Dr Crescent?'

'Yes, your mother.'

Sephiroth was rendered speechless momentarily. He saw red. 'Jenova is my mother. I'll ask you one more time. Who are you?'

Having enough, he picked up his sword. He tightened his grip on the hilt, his knuckles going white. He thought it would frighten the man, but he didn't so much as flinch.

'My name is Vincent.' Vincent paused and then sighed. 'I am so sorry for what they have done to you.'

Sephiroth was more than frustrated with himself for letting Vincent's words startle him. He clenched his jaw. The expression on the man's face, what wasn't hidden by the collar of his ragged cloak, was of incredible sadness.

'Why?'

'I could not stop them. I could not protect you. I failed you and your mother.'

A rage that felt unnatural filled his chest. 'My mother was Jenova.'

'But you know of Dr Crescent?'

'Of course. She was kind to me.'

'Because she was your mother.'

'You have no proof!'

Vincent looked to the floor after Sephiroth's furious outburst, then slowly looked back up to his face. 'No, I do not. But I can help you find answers. You have woken me up. I do not intend to fail you again.'

'How do you know of this? How do you know of me and my life?'

Vincent took several deep breaths. 'I was a Turk. Her bodyguard.'

Sephiroth sensed there was something else the man was not saying; his face and tone said it for him. But he was not particularly interested in this man's relationship with Dr Crescent. He wasn't sure why he was even interested in what Vincent was saying at all. As he listened, the voices and thoughts persisted, nagging at him to just kill Vincent and be done with it. He tried to mentally swat them away like flies.

'I do not expect you to believe this,' Vincent continued, looking back directly at him. 'I only hope that you will abandon your destructive thoughts and accompany me to see her.' Sephiroth opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off. 'You are easy to read at the moment. You practically radiate hurt, anger… fear.' Sephiroth flinched. 'I do not know you. I do not know the man you have become. But I know that you have suffered and I am partly to blame. I would hope that sharing your past and the truth with you will help you to forgive me in time.'

Sephiroth had dealt with many strange and difficult situations in his life, but nothing like this. He didn't know what to think. He couldn't think. He was thinking too much. He felt a headache beginning and rubbed his free hand against his forehead.

'If you would permit me to leave,' Vincent said slowly and carefully, as if he knew what Sephiroth had experienced in the hours previous, and was afraid to poke the bear. 'I will go to the nearest inn. I will wait there for a time. Come to me if you decide to take me up on my offer. I know not of your reasons to be here, but should you have the time, I know your mother would like to see you.'

Without another word, Vincent leaned into his resting place and withdrew a magnificent gun. Attaching it to the belt at his hip, he did not wait for Sephiroth's permission to leave, and walked past him out of the room. Once Sephiroth was left alone, the past few minutes hit him. Part of him desperately wanted to believe this man, but the voices… _her voice,_ commanded him to think otherwise. It was beginning to feel like a game of tug of war was being played with his mind, and he wasn't sure how much more of it he could take.

This was not what he had expected when he had opened that coffin.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Thanks to my two reviewers! I decided to update this with a short chapter to give another taste of the story, from a different angle if you get me. Anyway, enjoy. Review if you want more :)**_

 _ **Chapter 2**_

Rebeka leaned back in her old, unstable wooden chair behind the counter. and closed her eyes. With a happy sigh, she smiled and thought of the conversation she had had with Tifa only that morning.

' _We've found somewhere, Beka!'_

The thrill that came with the realisation that they would be leaving their village and following their dreams in Midgar, sent shivers down Rebeka's spine. They would work at Seventh Heaven, the bar Tifa had convinced to take them on, and little by little, they would save enough gil to open their own bar. Some girls dreamed of marrying a prince. Rebeka and Tifa dreamed of independence and life in the big city.

She had yet to tell her mother that she had made this drastic decision. She dreaded it. She knew her mother would be miserable; she hadn't been the same since Cloud had left for Shinra, and Rebeka knew that she secretly hoped her daughter would stay working in the inn and live with her until her dying day. But Rebeka knew there was more to life than that. She was twenty years old, older than both Cloud and Tifa, and did not want to be living this stable, boring life for the rest of her existence. Why should Cloud be able to live his dream and not her? No, she would leave this village. The arrogance in her told her that she was meant for bigger things. It was, after all, what her father used to tell her.

'Excuse me.'

Rebeka nearly levitated out of her seat because of the fright the voice had given her. She quickly got her bearings, sat straight and took a look at the visitor. She hoped her face didn't betray her confusion at the appearance of the man. Dressed in black leather from head to toe, the red cape, fastened with numerous small belts and buckles, and his eyes, the same shade of crimson, were what puzzled her the most. He gave her the creeps.

'Hi,' she chirped, putting on the fake smile and attitude reserved for customers. 'Can I help you? We have three rooms currently available if you're interested in staying with us!'

The man scanned the room with his unnatural eyes and then from behind the tall collar of his cloak, he nodded. 'I would like to rent a room. I am also expecting to meet someone here. Is it acceptable for me to wait here in the lobby?'

Rebeka couldn't help but raise a brow. The place was more like a porch than a lobby. She was also slightly worried at the prospect of the man meeting someone there. Who would this shady guy be meeting? _Another_ shady guy? Gulping, she reassured herself. There was a SOLDIER upstairs and two infantry men. She was safe. Then, she noticed the gun attached to the man's hip.

'Oh…Of course. There will always be someone at the desk if you need anything. There's a chair by the window there if you want to…' She trailed off as the man continued to stare at her. Letting out a nervous cough, Rebeka turned to grab the closest key from the rack behind her on the wall, and reached out with shaking hands to give it to the man. After an awkward moment of waiting for him to take it from her, he eventually plucked it out of her hand silently. 'I'll also need your name for the books.'

He nodded again as he slipped the key into a pocket beneath the cloak. 'Of course. It's John Smith.'

Rebeka resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the lack of creativity from the man, He turned to walk away as she wrote down his obvious alias, and when she looked back he was gone. She peered over to the chair by the window, expecting to see him there, but was baffled to see it empty. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or even more anxious at his disappearance. Movement on the stairs made her jump, but she replaced once she recognised the black spiky hair.

'Hi, Mr Fair.'

The SOLDIER rolled his eyes dramatically. 'Rebekaaaaaaaa! I told you to call me Zack. You're making me feel old.' He gave her a goofy smile and waltzed over to lean his back against the counter. 'Any sign of him?' he said under his breath, his eyes wandering the room. He frowned.

'No. Although there was a seriously creepy guy in here a minute ago.'

Zack rose a bro and brought his right hand to the hilt of the sword on his back. 'I need to kick some butt?' he demanded, almost comically. Rebeka laughed and put a hand on his risen arm.

'No, no. Mr Smith just seemed… weird. Creepy weird.'

'Oh, yes. _That_ type of weird. I know _exactly_ what you mean.' His frown lifted as he gave her a wink. She slapped his arm and narrowed her eyes at his sarcasm. He sighed and moved away from the counter. 'I'm gonna go and try again,' he said seriously, staring out the open door in the direction of Shinra Manor. 'He needs to come out sometime. Gah, he's got me all worried like my mother.'

'I think you're allowed to worry when your friend and colleague locks himself in the basement of a supposedly haunted house for days on end after freaking out on you.'

Zack didn't have a witty comeback this time, and simply 'hm'ed as he continued to watch outside. Finally, after a moment of silence, he moved to go out the door. Just as he went to step outside, a barrier blocked his path. A very tall, Sephiroth shaped barrier.


End file.
